May We Turn Up the LIGHT
Years ago, when I was a child, my parents drove us (the kids) westward to a Kentucky National Park. It was a great day, and we still have a photograph, one that shows all of us posed near the sign: Mammoth Cave National Park.
This park is home to the longest cave system in the world, one filled with rivers and DEEP DARKNESS. If you have journeyed to hike down into the cave system, then you remember the walk down the long flight of stairs, the coolness on the skin, making you thankful for your jacket, and the dampness that seemed to permeate inside your skin.
I was fascinated as a kid.
It was a journey, a hike, and a day I will never forget; so, when my soon-to-be husband suggested that we go to Mammoth Cave National Park for our honeymoon, I jumped at the chance. That trip was some thirty-nine years ago (this past February).
Then, ten years ago, when I was preparing a week of day-trips for our extended family from Europe, I knew with certainty that Mammoth Cave National Park would definitely be a place we would go.
- Maybe you are reading and wondering: Why?
- What is the fascination with this longest cave system in the world?
Am I intrigued by the hike, the journey downward, the dampness, the rivers flowing through the cave, or by something else?
For sure, all of the above are intriguing and fun to explore, but without a doubt, it is the DEEP DARKNESS THAT DREW ME MOST.
When you sign-up for a hike, there are many sights to see along the way, but during the hike, the park ranger will guide the group to this humongous room, one that requires a person to lean back his head to attempt to see the ceiling of the room. Then, as the patrons to the park stand there in the well-lite room, the park ranger will speak, readying the group for the event that is about to occur.
“In a moment, I will extinguish all the light. Do not move but stand perfectly still and see the darkness.”
Then the lights went out and immediately the darkness was felt. I could only see and feel the darkness surrounding me. Even as my eyes adjusted to the dark, still I could not see my hand in front of my face. I could not see anything—until the park ranger struck a tiny match, a light so small but one so great that it permeated the room.
LIGHT IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF DARK!
NO, DARKNESS IS AN ABSENCE OF LIGHT!
When someone struggles to perceive the LIGHT of the world, the TRUTH found in JESUS, it is because they walk in darkness; the father of lies who roams throughout this world fills their mind, body, and soul.
Historical writings tell us that during the time when the Lord walked upon the earth, there was a lack of faith, and it was a time of ritualistic religion, one that required people to follow the Covenant Law. During the Festival of Shelters, an annual celebration, the people remembered the way God led their ancestors through the desert to the Promised Land by His pillar of fire, one that gave them the light needed to travel. It was during this annual celebration that we read—
“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,
(The Gospel According to John 8: 12-14 & 25-26 NASB)
“I am the Light of the world;
he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness,
but will have the Light of life.”
So the Pharisees said to Him,
“You are testifying about Yourself;
Your testimony is not true.”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Even if I testify about Myself,
My testimony is true,
for I know where I came from and where I am going;
but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.”
. . .
So they were saying to Him,
“Who are You?”
Jesus said to them,
“What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you,
but He who sent Me is true;
and the things which I heard from Him,
these I speak to the world.”
In other words, the same LIGHT their ancestors experienced was available to them—through JESUS.
- Christianity is the TRUTH.
- It must be taken as TRUTH.
A person either BELIEVES or remains in the darkness, for Jesus proclaimed: “I am the Light of the world; . . “
Without a doubt: He is who He says He is! & Jesus proclaimed: “he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Jesus speaks the Gospel truth!
If you have never experienced the deep darkness found inside a cave, then imagine how dark the earth would be if you hiked one mile down into the center of its core. The DARK is truly DARK!
Most assuredly, the light is not the absence of the dark, BUT the darkness is the absence of the LIGHT!
If we want the world where we live to be improved: if we want more truth and less lies; if we more peace and less war; & if we want more love and less hate, then it can only happen when we TURN UP THE LIGHT!
Believer & Follower of Jesus, we must allow Christ’s light to shine through us & we must not procrastinate but begin today.
- How will we share Jesus’ light with those who live near us?
- How will we share Jesus’ light with those who work around us?
- How will we share Jesus’ light with those who we eat with or with those who we meet as we shop?
Jesus proclaimed: “I am the Light of the world; . . “ & He is!
- Christ is the Light that shines in the heart of the believer because we are the vessel through which the LIGHT of GOD shines through into the world!
- May we help the world SEE JESUS.
- May we turn up the LIGHT so others will SEE JESUS & choose to believe.
- King Solomon, the wisest man who asked God to give him wisdom, wrote—
“The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD,
(The Proverbs 20: 27 NASB)
Searching all the innermost parts of his being.”